Alternatives: Timeline Displacements
by Mr. Omelette
Summary: Henry, a future version of Henry, suddenly finds himself in a hospital gown, inside his younger body. A blessing? A curse? Either way, this is his second chance. AU and mild crossover with Kingdom Hearts themes.
1. Report 7

.

Report # 07

By: _Dr. Frankenstein_ and Blue Fairy

Revised By: **Belle**

**.**

_It appears that the specimen is composed primarily of a black, tar-like substance. When separated from the heart, the substance remains in stasis. Upon close proximity to a heart, in our case, a magically extracted heart, the substance would exhibit locomotive functions, and is quite attracted to the magical heart. No observing instrument is currently at my disposal therefore studying the cellular structure of the specimen is not possible as of now. My colleague, however, believes that the substance is the physical manifestation of a living person's negative emotions._

_My colleague, the Blue Fairy, hypothesizes that the substance's reaction to physical stimuli is not enough to properly purify the black substance. One must need to-.-.-.-.-.-_

_._

_._

**Henry says that the substance acts  
****as the heart's vessel,  
****for the darkness feeds on the flesh  
****corrupts the heart  
****and throws away the soul**

.


	2. 1

They were coming.

"Henry…"

Footsteps. The sound of footsteps reverberate on the hall of endless doors, endless possibilities. A male, not really young for a boy, but not really old for a man, was leading their group.

"Nicholas…"

They were being followed. Of hollowed creatures of what were once people. What were once the people this group cared about. What were once innocent people, now turned into husks of their former selves. They are the shadows born from those who've been consumed by darkness, not tainted. _Corrupted_. They weren't dead, but they were as good as one. They were unlike the undead as well, for they do not have a body, or a soul. They were pure hate, and despair, and darkness. And a heart. The heart of the consumed.

A younger man, younger only to the young man leading them, raised a hand, and embers formed around boy who summoned it. The shadows slowed down, the heat momentarily dazing them, but the boy was exhausted, and the fire was extinguished sooner than the group has anticipated.

"Paige…"

The shadows were nearing them. Moving like shadows on the ground, they slithered like serpents ensnaring their prey.

A female, not really young for a girl, but not really old for a woman, touched a door. It was part of her, this ability. Her father was just starting to teach her how to control it when the shadows appeared.

It was just the three of them, leading this group, the younger boy and the young woman following the lead of the young man. Following them were people. The few remaining citizens of what was once a cursed town: the daughter of a man who once breathed gold to anything he touched, her betrothed–a knight who was once a gym teacher, the grandmother who's courage and valor was comparable to the ancient paladins, a widower who carried his sweet daughter in his hands, a one-handed pirate, and a petite librarian who has taken to using her intellect to finding ways of stopping these shadows.

"Get in. Now." The young woman told group. She was important, most important to them all, for she kept the door open, for them to have a way in and out of a place. The younger man was using fire, making it dance around, but carefully so it wouldn't hurt the people they were trying to protect.

"Henry!" The young man, no a boy, with his odd-shaped weapon, one in the shape of a key, rushed into the shadows and took them on, head on. Her grandfather taught him most of what he knew, and he used every single one of them to keep the shadows at bay.

The younger man was still keeping the shadows from entering the door the young woman opened, his power was exhausted and he has taken to bargaining his life force to command the fires. "Nicholas!"

"Don't stop!" the two young men yelled, "Don't waver! We're almost there!" The grandmother was the last to enter the portal, letting an arrow loose on a shadow that was about to hurt the young woman.

"Paige!" The young woman was panting. Keeping the door open was harder, with her abilities still unrefined and raw. If her papa was here… no. She won't go that road. At least, not yet. Not when the other two are still there.

"Get in! Everyone's safe!" she yells. But she knew it was too late, a lot more shadows have passed the perimeter the two young men have tried to maintain. And if she doesn't close the door, the shadows would bleed into this realm. She couldn't leave them there, but she couldn't taint this realm with the shadows. So she did the only thing she knew at that time: she stepped back into the hallway, closed the door, and ran to her two friends.

"Paige!" The two boys were aware that they weren't going to make it. They've been prepared. But what shocked them was that the young woman had emerged from the portal, locked the door from within the realm, and ran to them like her life depend on it.

"Henry!" The older boy ducked from a claw that was aimed to dismember his head. He kicked the shadow in its belly, and it recoiled and burst into a pile of dark mist. It was gone, but only back to where it came from. The Source. For he hadn't sliced it with his sword.

"Nicholas!" the boy, having full exhausted his reserves, and having bargained ninety years of his life to the fire spirits, was powerless now. Defeated. He was on his last hour, literally on his last hour, and to be honest, he doesn't feel… scared. His sister was no longer with him, and so is his father. He's got a feeling they were waiting for him, but not before ensuring that he's tried his best to defend his friends.

Slowly, they were cornered. Their backs facing-touching each other as they watched the unyielding darkness crept slowly to them.

"I'll protect you." The older boy, Henry, that's his name, said to the kneeling boy. The girl, Paige, or Grace, knelt to meet the eyes of the other boy, Nicholas, or Hansel, and offered to give her remaining strength to the boy.

"No, you take it." Nicholas smiles, feeling the light vanish from his eyes.

"It's not like it'll make a difference." Paige forced some of her life on him, and his face color visibly returned. She was mad of course, just like her father, but then, aren't we all a little crazy?

The shadows had no face, no features but they were humanoid in form. They also had no definite consciousness. They didn't even kill. They merely consumed. Taint the heart first, with despair, or greed, or anger, before shedding the body and soul it contained.

"Guys…" Henry looks at Hansel and Grace, apologetically.

"We tried our best." Grace tried to perk up for them.

Hansel tried to stand. "It was… fun."

Henry, fifteen year-old Henry, with a blade shaped like a key, tried to huddle with his friends. Offer that last embrace with them, as the shadows slowly neared them.

And that's the last thing he remembered before everything was quiet. And everything felt like nothing anymore.

* * *

In a different timeline, Cora managed to find a way into Stroybrooke without Hook's help. Mulan, Aurora, Snow and Emma Swan managed to follow her, tailed by the infamous Captain Hook, but magic was unpredictable. Their group arrived two months after Cora did, and by then it was already too late.

Due to Cora's realm-jumping, she's acquired more knowledge of the mystic arts. More knowledge on just about everything, really. But while her mind and intellect grew, her heart and soul grew darker, more hollowed. So much so that upon her first step into the town, a town where magic was even more unpredictable, her dark heart burst, shedding the frail body it had. Her soul, much stronger than the average person, decided to stay with the heart. And she became the first one of them.

But since her heart was consumed, her soul inevitably got consumed as well. She became less like Cora and more like a monster. Oh the monster still had Cora's intellect, and cunning, and power, but this Cora only knew to consume. To devour. To replicate herself. To taint more worlds. More realms, starting with Storybooke. Starting with her own daughter.

…and Henry saw all of it, how his adoptive grandmother filled his adoptive mother's heart with fear, and grief, until she too was consumed by darkness. Rumplestiltskin valiantly tried to control Cora, but with a shadow-fied Regina at Cora's disposal, the Dark One fell none too quickly. But since the Dark One didn't want to give his power to Cora, he took his own life, therefore ending the Cycle of passing the Dark One's power with him. From there, it spread like wildfire. The unsuspecting citizens of Storybrooke was struck without warning, of course, they tried to valiantly contain the problem, but with Charming still asleep, and Snow, Emma, or even Regina, nowhere in sight, all were in confusion.

Surprisingly, Belle rose as the leader of the town. Using her intellect, they managed to control the problem for a good while…

…until the shadows decided to branch out and consume the people not from Storybrooke. They consumed the innocents in a matter of hours. Maine by the first hour, and the rest of the country by sunset. By the time it was nightfall, most of the world was bowing down to one woman. With their numbers multiplying into billions, the town of Storybrooke didn't stand a chance.

Everyone was getting desperate, and slowly, much of the key members of the town were felled by the enemy. The Blue Fairy was overpowered by Cora herself. Red, despite having some resistance against the shadows, was killed in a skirmish. Jiminy Cricket was abducted to become Cora's little plaything–the poor man lost his sanity, in a matter of hours.

A few others, like King George, tried to get into Cora's good side, by bribing power or money, but Cora was getting less and less human. She didn't need them, much less process their importance. So these people were also turned into shadows – it was much too easy for Cora, after all.

And then, Snow's group arrived. It was a like a breath of fresh air. And for a time, the tide seemed to shift into their favor. Snow broke the curse Charming was in and they tried to organize what little forces they had left. Mulan became something of a general to the people. And Emma, somehow, became the new center of magic. It looked like everything was finally getting together, but like a breath of fresh air, it was fleeting.

The numbers of the enemy has grown too much that it overwhelmed them, even with Snow and Charming's leadership and Mulan's seemingly-flawless battle tactics. Hope was starting to fade, and fade fast.

Then one day, Emma was ambushed by Cora. But before the final blow was struck, Emma willed her soul to consume her body and heart. And since she was never tainted fully by darkness, it turned into a power. A power that needed a vessel. And a vessel it found in Henry, her son.

The power manifested in him, changing, morphing, turning into something concrete. And his blade was born. It could easily cut a shadow in half, and permanently free the heart from darkness, but since the heart is without a vessel or a soul, it fades into the afterlife, with Henry praying that they find eternal respite.

Everything else went downhill after that. Snow and Charming, at the loss of their daughter, tried to keep up appearances, but Cora managed to draw out the grief inside of them and they were turned into one of them. Everyone was surprised; their leaders felled just like that? Everything returned to disarray, but fortunately, Belle managed to organize everything again. But not before losing even more people. Mulan and the seven dwarves tried to trap Cora but they were easily overwhelmed with the power the old witch commanded. Cinderella sacrificed herself to become something similar to Henry's blade to protect her daughter Alexandra, and for her Prince Thomas to wield. Dr. Frankenstein, who tried to use science to study the enemy, was turned or killed by a shadow when he tried to get closer to one. Others, like Geppetto, Pinocchio, Gretel and her father simply vanished, or disappeared.

Everything has gotten so bad, that by the time Henry was fifteen, the world was a hollow place for humans – strangely, shadows only attacked humans and not animals and plants. By that time, the only living survivors that they know of were Princess Abigail, her beloved Frederick, Granny, Prince Thomas, and his five year-old daughter Alexandra, Belle, Jefferson, Captain Hook, Hansel, Grace and Henry. It's a bit surprising, but this odd group of people grew, if one were to be bold, closer together. Like a family. And the sad thing is, their numbers would grow even smaller on their last, desperate attempt for a good future.

Jefferson, or the Mad Hatter, had presented the plan. A plan to open a portal to jump into another realm. But in order to do that, in order to transfer that many people, he needed a bigger magical source, bigger than that of his own. He needed something pure. Like true love's kiss, so Abigail and Frederick offer one of their hairs to produce that power. Jefferson opened the portal, and all seemed to be going well, until Cora, or a being of what was once Cora, appeared. It was simply attracted to the strong magical energies resonating in the place, and it tried to eat it. It would've succeeded too if not for Prince Thomas sticking his magical blade into Cora's body, and Jefferson staying behind to keep the blade still stuck on Cora. Poor Grace never had the chance to rescue her father because the shadows emerged and started to go into the portal. It overwhelmed them, so Jefferson stayed behind, ordering his own daughter to close the magical portal. With a heavy heart, Grace did what her father asked, and effectively leaving Jefferson behind.

But enough of the shadows had entered the hallway of the endless doors. Some even started to chew on the doors of the other realms, no doubt wanting to infect other worlds.

And that's how we find Henry, who was the budding leader of the group, Grace, the realm jumper's daughter, Nicholas, the orphaned fire wizard surrounded by nothing but darkness.


	3. 2

It seemed to be the end.

To Henry, the end felt like a sleep. A numbing, dreamless sleep.

Was he floating? Was he underwater? No… but it felt like he was gliding in the sea, the water's pull making him move. But he wasn't wet so…

And then he opened his eyes.

He was… back.

"Mom."

He was staring at his mother. Alive and well, and he, erm...he was… in a hospital gown. Embarrassingly in a hospital gown.

He remembered this moment; it's when magic was introduced into this world. Right after the town got submerged in that purple fog.

"Mom!" Henry was so ecstatic, that he ran into his mother and enveloped Emma Swan in a hug. But then, he realized that he was… smaller. The last time he remembered, he was almost as tall as his mother, before she…

"Henry…" his mother was shocked by her son's sudden outburst, but then again, being called 'mom' felt… nice.

So he was back into his ten-year old self again. This could be a dream. He's dreamed something similar to this, and he knew it was just an escape his mind tried to do for him. But heck, dream or not, well… he's going to _live_ in it.

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Emma asked her son.

_Yes_, he wanted to say. "No. I don't." _A lie_.

And Emma looked at her son. Really looked at her son, and then Henry realized that his mom had lie-detecting powers. "I was joking." He tried to laugh it off, "It's magic of course. The town's got magic now."

The blonde woman looked at her son, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, we find Snow White and Prince Charming, your parents." He grinned, an infectious smile, realizing that he would see them, _everyone,_ again. "_My_ grandparents."

* * *

.

Paige realized that she was in the playground, surrounded by all the other kids cursed by the Evil Queen. And the first thing her brain thought was, "Papa!"

And off she went on her own, running out of the playground and into the only place she knew where the Mad Hatter could be found.

.

* * *

.

Nicholas had been eating breakfast with his sister and his father in Granny's diner when the memories of controlling fire spirits and the faces of his two future friends entered his mind. The bread he was holding, due to the shock, got caught in a small fire. No one saw what he had done, because everything was surrounded in a purple fog and by the time the fog dissipated, all that's left of the bread were ashes on the table.

He better know what's going on first, and that meant… hm… going around town, perhaps? But he needed to not make his family suspicious, so he should do that when he's alone.

.

* * *

This is probably Henry's weirdest dream yet, because it felt so real. Maybe it is real, but how did that happened? Did the universe sneeze just when he was about to die? What about Paige and Nick? They were with him before…and it would really suck if it was only him here.

"Mary Margaret! David!" he had been walking beside his mother looking for his grandparents, and just like before, they found them in the exact same place.

"What's going on?" Emma looked rattled, but she's just fought a dragon earlier, if memory served Henry right, so he'll let it slide. Everything went exactly like the last time, but the conversations they were having, as far as he could remember, weren't the same. Maybe that sentence, the one where he told his mother that the purple fog was magic, did some sort of butterfly effect?

He was walking behind his family, going to his adoptive mother's house, just like last time.

Butterfly effect; then that would mean, anything that he would do and not do, whether it's significant or not, would ultimately affect the current timeline. But then the future, the future that he was in, was bleak, and morbid and full of fighting. He should make up a plan. If this is really happening, that what was happening around Henry right now was not a dream, then screw keeping the timeline intact, well… just to be sure, maybe he should just do little changes, and see what happens from there?

One thing's for certain. Cora should not enter this world.

* * *

.

Paige was almost there. She knew where he'd be… so just a little more. Thoughts were racing in her mind, and while she was trying to process what was happening to her, she had to make sure… that if this was a do over, her father was included in this reboot.

.

Nicholas had slipped away from the mob, just when they were growing in size. Slipping away from his dad was a breeze, but his sister was a different story. How many hide-and-seek games had he lost because of her tracking abilities? And she was much better when they were in their home realm; now that her memories are back, he had to make sure that he wasn't being followed or watched before he could… observe what's happening.

If what Henry told him is true, then the royal family's about to face a wraith. And that would lead to Snow White, and Henry's mother being separated from the townsfolk. And, days later, Cora would arrive. As much as he wants to check things out, like check if his pacts with the fire spirits are still in effect, he had to see if his friends (Paige and Henry) were in the same position as him.

One thing's for sure, and knowing Henry, Nick knew he needed to help his friend (or future friend?) in stopping that wraith.

Only problem is, he doesn't know what would trigger the wraith's arrival.

He had been walking around town, watching the adults go to the direction of the mob, before something crashed into him.

Nicholas fell on his butt, and he looked harshly at the person who bumped into him. It was a blonde girl. But, she looked familiar.

"Paige?" she looked like his friend, except younger, and the scar on her cheek – the one that was from a shadow's claw – was no longer there.

"Hey, what was that for…?" the girl looked at the boy, and for a moment, there was this moment. Moment of realization.

"Nick?"

Nicholas let out a sigh, "Oh God, I'm so relieved you recognized me."

"What's going on?" Paige, being Paige, then started to retell what happened, "We were surrounded… and then I'm in a playground, surrounded by kids, and everyone was here… and alive again."

"I know no more that you, Paige." It's the accent Dr. Frankenstein taught him to speak in, when he apprenticed under him after the demise of Mother Superior; Nicholas was a budding scholar back then, and Mother Superior and Dr. Frankenstein saw that in him. So they took him under their wing and tried to educate him. Actually, he apprenticed (or will apprentice?) under the Blue Fairy and Dr. Frankenstein, and while he never finished either one because of what happened to them, he was quite adept in Dr. Frankenstein's brand of science, and magical pacts with the Elementals thanks to the Blue Fairy-particularly to element of heat.

"But if you're here, and I'm here, does that mean… Henry, our Henry, is also here?"

"That is not a bad hypothesis." He tells her, "In fact, I was looking for him before you bumped into me."

"Well, you go do that, because I'm looking for my…" Paige was about to finish it when she realized that someone was tailing them. It's a survival instinct thing all of them have honed, for the shadows always tried to ambush them. Nicholas turns around.

"Sis…" well, he's never truly defeated Gretel in hide-and-seek.

* * *

Just like before, he was left under the watchful eyes of Ruby. And knowing her, even if she's a little rusty, it would be impossible to leave her sight. Damn, he was weak again, and he couldn't do anything about it.

His family's already acquired Jefferson's hat and they were now trying to protect his adoptive mom. He was debating on sneaking out, but even if he somehow managed to leave when Ruby wasn't looking, she could still track his scent.

What if he explained to her his disposition? No, that'll be to cataclysmic. _I mean, it's bad enough that memories of one version of my future self is in my head. If I tell someone about it, then who knows what the consequences of those actions might be_. Nick once explained to him the importance of not angering and meddling with Fate, Time and Destiny. Those are the three things that one would principally not meddle with. But then, he's here, so maybe, he's already meddling with the three? Or maybe he's their pawn? Alas, that still isn't a good enough reason for him to drop the bomb.

Damn it, he hasn't even spent time with his mom yet and now she's about to get sucked in the portal again. Maybe he should go look for Jefferson? That way, if Grace is with him, and knowing the two of them, they'll be looking for each other, he could finally start making those plans of timeline-changes. Worry about Hansel later because Hansel was resourceful, and nine out of ten times, Nick would find Henry first.

"Ruby…" Henry walked to her, who was trying to clean the trashed diner after the mob got riled up, he was helping just like in the past, but this time he's… got more important matters.

"Yes, Henry?"

"Can I go out?"

Ruby smiled at him, ruffled his hair, "You know I can't… your family's orders."

Henry nodded, "I know it's for my own good, but I've got something really important to do. And no, I'm not about to go to where my mom and my grandparents are." _At least, not until I've find out what happened to Grace and Hansel._ Henry finished in his thoughts.

Ruby looked at him seriously, "If it's really that important, you can tell it to me, or I could do it for you."

Henry resisted the urge to smile, typical helpful and compassionate Ruby. Maybe, he should take advantage of it? "Well, I'm looking for someone. You might not know him exactly, but I'm pretty sure he's called Jefferson here. You know the rich guy who lives in the outskirts of town? Him."

Ruby looked up in thought for a moment, "I think I know who you're talking about; he seats in the corner to drink tea every afternoon back then."

Henry's careful not to tell too much, "I know this might sound weird, but I've read your story, and since everyone knows who they are now, I want to ask you a favor."

Ruby's silence told him to continue, "I want to know if you could track him. His stench, I mean."


	4. Report 4

.

Report # 04

By: _Blue Fairy_

Additional Information By: **Belle**

**_._**

_Due to our savior anchoring herself as the new Centre of Magi, magic has been trying to organize itself in this barren world. My fairies are reporting the reappearances of magical mines and forests, the once mermaids and sirens have told us that the waters are exhibiting magical properties as well, and the now-human avian beings have told me that the heavens have been stirring with power as of late. I have presented this information to the Council, but our numbers have dwindled far too much now that exploiting these developments would dampen the town's defenses. I have also asked if we could procure fairy dust now but since most of the dwarves have enlisted under the flag of the general, I have a feeling that taking them away from the defenses would inevitably weaken our already weak manpower._

_._

_...I have been using most of my power and knowledge to the best of my ability in trying to maintain the town's magical barrier, but I fear that my power is not enough, considering Cora has Regina and most of the dark magicians at her disposal now._

_It also alarms me that the beings, these… shadows, appear to be difficult to repel, much more so in attempting to purify them._

_I am currently trying to recruit a few individuals, those who aren't adept in fighting, for an endeavor that could help us in the situation but_-.-.-.-.-.-.-

.

.

**After reading the entries of the late Mother Superior,  
It pains me to think that we could've had a better chance if we tried to pursue her ideas.**

**Our situation and odds for survival might've been better then  
If we tried to do what she wanted.**

**Also, if only we discovered the synthesis of the Blades sooner  
****then we could've…**

_._


	5. Report 3

.

Report # 03

By: _Aurora_

Additional Information By:** Belle**

**.**

_Lately, I have been seeing someone's face in my dream. I don't want to sound hopeful, but I think its Philip's. He's telling me that he can see us. That he's trying to watch over us. Me, Mulan, everyone. He worries about the place we're in for it is cold and dark and numbing, and I do not know what to say to ease his worries. However, he wasn't the only one I was seeing in my dreams, there were two others; a man accompanied by a huge silver wolf and a man whose eyes told me that he was separated from his true love. They tell me that those who've been consumed by the shadows don't go to where they are, how their souls can't travel to their place because of their hearts being manipulated by the Source. They ask me to tell those with the power to purify to be ever vigilant. I've only told Mulan about this, and I am not sure if I should tell this to the Council. Maybe I should tell this to Belle? But, what good would that do?_

_._

_._

**I do not mean to read Aurora's journals like this, especially since _that_ incident, but I miss my friend dearly. Her entries are the only ones that make me remember her now. I cannot seem to remember her now, and that worries me because the others are experiencing the same thing; how Nicholas can't remember his father's face. And how Mulan, dare I say, can no longer remember Philip. Is this the effects of being near shadows? I don't know, but I should tell this to the Council, just in case.**

.

…**I have asked around too, and the man with a wolf familiar sound like someone Henry knew, a fellow named Graham. I do not know if this is useful information, but I guess, since I'm once again reading my late friend's journal, I might as well tell her -this journal- one of the men's name. For my and her closure, I guess.**


	6. 3

"Ava…" the Paige in Grace knew her. Ava was a fifth grader in school, and granted, Pagie's just a fourth grader, Ava was one of the few who didn't act like anyone in a younger grade was beneath them. She was nice enough, but was distant.

"I don't have time to explain." Nick told Ava as the older girl walked to them.

"That you remember everything now?"

_You have no idea._ Paige and Nick thought.

Knowing how, by sunset, Queen Snow and Princess Emma would be transported to another realm; Nick didn't have time to explain it thoroughly. "Look, Sis, I really don't have time to explain." He extended his hand, and a small ball of fire formed and floated above it. It was taxing and it vanished too quickly for him, but it was enough to leave a statement. It also told Nick that he's got to renew his contracts with the fire spirits.

His sister jumped away, "Wha-what did you just do?"

"Like I said, I don't have time to explain it to you right now," Nick told her sister, "But I will tell you once this is all over." He looked at the two of them, "Have any of you seen Henry?"

Paige shook her head; in their trio Hansel has always been the brains of the group. Always trying to outsmart those shadows. Belle herself has said that Hansel possesses the gleaming curiosity most scholarly people had, and that if they were in a better situation, Hansel would've done great things and innovations.

Gretel knew something odd has happened to her brother, especially since he sneaked out from his father's sight. He had always been pretty easy to read too before, but ever since that purple fog, it's like…

"Sis?"

It's like this is a different Hansel.

* * *

"Can you at least tell me why I'm looking for this man?"

Henry was walking beside Red; they were out in the open, walking briskly in the streets, Ruby sniffing the air for Jefferson's scent.

"He's the Mad Hatter." Henry told her like the answer was just _that_ obvious. It's weird, though, his personality is still that of his ten-year old version but the memories of the future made him… er… have conflicting issues.

"And this has got to do with… what exactly?"

Henry was hesitant to answer, fortunately, Ruby caught on with his scent, and she made a beeline for his direction, "C'mon Henry, I can sense him."

It didn't take long, even with Ruby being supposedly rusty, for them to track down Jefferson. He was stalking Mr. Gold's shop when the two found him. Ruby, whose inhumane strength was slowly getting back to her, pinned him to the wall.

"Ruby! We just want to talk to him." Henry knew it was the wolf in her being ecstatic in successfully tracking her prey, and she still couldn't control her wolfish urges yet.

"Oh, sorry." Jefferson was quickly dropped on the floor gasping for air.

"Sorry, about that sir, but I know… Paige." He was careful, he could just tell him that she knew Grace's real name, for his daughter's name wasn't in the book.

The man looked fiercely at him, and Ruby almost lashed out at him again, "Stop, both of you."

"What about… Gr-Paige?" the name slipped out from his tongue like it was poison.

"I know that she's probably looking for you around town, probably worried sick too, but I don't understand why you're _not_ looking for her?"

Jefferson was quiet.

_Well that means, I'm still in square one_. Henry thought. _Maybe I should just go on ahead with this? Alone? Nah, can't do that to Paige; whether or not she's the Paige that I know, I still owe her the safety of her father, and reuniting them._

"I can help you look for her if you want?" Jefferson was still quiet, and he stiffened when someone called out to him.

.

"Papa?"

.

Henry looked behind Jefferson, and saw three kids, Paige, Nick and his sister.

* * *

"What's going on?" Henry asked Nick as they entered the male bathroom. It was probably the only place where her sister wouldn't be able to follow them. With Grace reunited with her dad again, Nick and Henry quickly decided that it's best if they return to Granny's diner.

"I know no more than you, Henry," Nick told him, "But I think this is our second chance. Our reset button. I think that's what we should be focusing on."

"Okay." Henry looked at him, "What should we do first?"

Nick looked at their reflection, opened the faucet and washed his hands, "For starters, we don't tell anyone about being from the future. That would be…"

"…too cataclysmic, I know. I'm talking about now, what should we do _now_?"

"Stop the wraith? Prevent your grandmother and your mom from leave Storybrooke?" Nicholas looked at his friend, "But my elemental pacts haven't been established yet, and you don't have your weapon. We're useless."

"We are only useless at the moment," Henry tried to imitate a certain bookworm's accent. "We are never truly useless. Belle told us that, remember?"

Nicholas nodded, "But we're running out of time, and by sunset the wraith's going to appear and suck your family into my homeland."

There was a knock on the bathroom door, "Nick? Henry?" It was Paige.

"Yep?" the two kids left the bathroom.

"So what's the plan?"

The two boys looked at her.

Nick was the group's brains; Henry was the heart while Paige likened herself as the team's spirit. The fun, crazy, positive spirit.

"I'm happy that we're here again, and ecstatic that my Papa's alive again, but I know we've been sent to the pas… er… we're here to do something important. We're obviously stopping the wraith, so I'm asking again, what's the plan?"

"How did you… nevermind, I don't want to know." Paige has always been a little mad. Mad, but wise.

Paige chuckled and touched the shoulder of his friends. It may have been the universe again, or Grace reawakening her hereditary abilities, but a portal appeared.

"Grace? GRACE!" Jefferson felt the portal just when her daughter excused herself to go look for her friends. The Gretel kid left the diner to go look for her and the younger boy's father, so he was left in the company of the diner owner's granddaughter. He was sitting on the corner, nursing a cup of tea in his hands when the lingering pull of a nearby portal made him tense.

The waitress seemed to have sense the imminent power of the portal too for she stiffened and turned alert. "Henry?"

"Ruby?"

"What's going on?"

"Grace?"

"Papa!"

Nicholas has already been sucked into the portal, while Paige and Henry were hanging on for dear life on the bathroom door's handle. Despite the fact that the portal was sucking the two kids it, to the two adult's it was as if they were being repelled by it. Like two similar poles of a magnet being placed together.

Henry's grip was starting to loosen.

"Henry! Hold on!" but it was too late, and the portal managed to draw in the two kids before vanishing into thin air.

Henry's eyes were closed throughout the portal jumping experience, and when everything stopped moving, and when Grace's grip around his waist was no longer tight, he opened his eyes. And the ceiling of the town hall was what he saw first.

* * *

"Henry?"

It was the voice of his mom and his adoptive mom.

"What just happened?" Snow White and Prince Charming was also there, looking at the three kids sprawled on the floor.

But the adults didn't get their answers because the wails of the wraith were heard by them.

"You need to get out of here," Prince Charming told the kids, "Snow…" And Mary Margaret tried to make the children stand.

Emma ran back to her corner, and tried to make Jefferson's hat to work.

Paige saw it, "You're doing it wrong." Despite Snow's warning, Grace ran to Emma and took hold of his father's hat, "You focus on the magic, not on making it work. Feel the magic." She told the older woman. Emma looked at her hesitantly before taking in a deep breathe. She did it again and the hat then spun, and spun, and spun, as the floor around it started to vanish, and before long the portal was there.

Perfect timing too because the wraith busted in. Prince Charming tried to keep it at bay, but the wraith was strong and persistent. It lifted him up and threw him to a corner before hovering towards Regina. One look in its eyes and the Evil Queen started to levitate as well. Henry, by impulse, ran to Emma, touched her arm, and tried to call for his weapon. He doesn't know if it'll work, but he might as well try. Emma doesn't know what was happening, but her strength started to wither, and her body started to stiffen.

To her, everything was getting dark, until all she can see was black, and she can't move. But surprisingly, she could feel everything, how the kid Nicholas tried to command fire, to Jefferson's kid keeping the portal open, to the life forces of Regina, her parents, and the three kids. She can't see, but she can feel everything, and everything was so alive.

"I'm sorry mom." Henry told her, and she felt his presence.

Henry, before his very eyes, saw her mother glow a white light, before turning into his key-shaped blade. He saw Hansel tiring from making the fire dance, saw her grandfather grab the unconscious child and her grandmother shooting arrows on it. Grace was trying her best to keep the portal open, so he jumped and tried to hit the wraith.

The monster let out this inhumane scream that made everyone cringe. But Henry steeled himself and kept up his attacks. It grew weaker, and weaker, and before long it sensed that it was outmatched. The monster was about to retreat too, but it sensed that it was cornered; one exit had Snow, an arrow ready, on it, while Charming guarded another exit, with his sword on his hands.

Henry dashed to it, and tackled the monster. The force of the blow was enough for the wraith to go near the portal to get sucked in it. Unfortunately, the g-force he exerted was too much, and he too plummeted into the portal. He tried to use his sword as an anchor, but his grip on the blade loosened, and he fell.

"Henry!" Nicholas, felt weak, but using the last of his strength, he jumped and followed his friend's lead.

"Henry! Nicholas!" Paige, tried to close the portal right after the wraith fell in it, but closing a doorway was much harder than opening one. And she's exhausted after trying to keep it in tact. Realizing that her friends needed her, she too jumped into the portal but not before using all of her strength to close the portal, for keeping a portal open is a dangerous, dangerous act. Keep one open long enough and it'll turn into a black hole, in fact.

The four adults on the premises tried to follow them, but before any of them could jump into the portal, the portal was gone. And a place without any children.

* * *

On the other side of the portal, Henry landed painfully on the ground, the wraith's bracelet not far from where he lay.

He heard footsteps coming to him, and a strong grip being held into his arm. It was a man, a brunet.

"Young man! Just what…" he saw the bracelet, and was about to touch it. "No! Don't!" Henry used up all of his strength to stop the man from touched the cursed thing, "It's cursed. Never touch it without wearing anything that would protect you from curses." And that was the last thing he said before losing consciousness.

Similarly, Nicholas and Grace fell beside him, but the two were already exhausted and were unconscious by the time the landed on the ground.


	7. 4

Three adults and a sword stared at the floor. The portal was gone and so were the wraith and the children.

The plan worked obviously, but it had consequences.

The sword, stuck on the ground, shone a bright light, and Emma was back to normal. The four stared at each other then back to the floor.

The door busted open and Jefferson and Ruby entered. "Grace!"

* * *

When Henry woke up, he found himself staring at the stars.

A fire was cracking from beside him, warming up what felt like a cold night in a forest.

"Urgh…" He sat up and saw Grace and Hansel asleep beside him.

"Good, you're finally awake." said a man's voice. Henry turned to the side and saw three people; the general, Princess Aurora, and someone he didn't know. Aurora and the stranger looked at him with curiosity, while Mulan had her hand ready for her sword (very typical, and Henry wanted to smirk). In the stranger's gloved hand was the medallion of the wraith, and Henry's eyes widened.

"You know what this is?" The stranger asked. The night was full of activity; the insects were singing, owls were hooting and the fire was cracking, but Henry's full focus was on the trinket held by the man.

"We need to get rid of that." Henry told them. "It's a dangerous artifact."

Mulan finally spoke, "The child is right; from my land, the Qui Shen are feared not only for what they are capable of, but also because they are impossible to kill. Someone has summoned the Qui Shen, and it is most likely looking for that trinket. An encounter with them will not bode well for us."

Henry nodded. He, however, felt that he needed to get their support, having realized that his friends are in Fairytale land, and if Henry and his friends ever plan to return to their loved ones. "Someone I care for was marked by the medallion," he started, "And when one were to receive the mark, the wraith would hunt them, mercilessly, and suck their soul. My family didn't want that to happen, so they made a plan to… erm… banish the wraith from my realm. It got ugly, and we ended up here."

Mulan's face was not happy, "You planned to send the wraith here?"

Nicholas wobbly sat up, stretching his frail body, "Everyone thought that this world no longer existed, with the Queen's curse and all, a perfect place to send a monstrosity."

Henry looked at his friend, "You okay, Nick?"

Hansel nodded, "I'm fine. I _am_ worried about Grace, though," she was still unconscious. "Keeping a portal open is a very exhausting feat."

* * *

"Where is my daughter?" Jefferson looked murderous, "I felt the portal. She was here, I know it."

Ruby was trying to restrain him. "Something happened, I think a portal appeared in the diner and sucked them in." she explained.

Snow was tying the pieces together, "They were dropped here, and then they… tried to…"

Regina got was she was talking about, "Tried to stop the wraith? With Henry I could understand," and honestly, it felt really nice that he tried to save her, "But the two other children?"

Emma Swan didn't care, "It doesn't matter. What does matter is how we get them back." Her maternal instincts were kicking in and she still felt responsible for the two kid's welfare. She walked to Jefferson, glared at him fiercely (for she still remembered what he did to her) and asked, "Have any hats left?"

Jefferson calmed down a bit, "It doesn't work like that; when they entered the portal, the door leading to the world was closed by them. No one else can enter the realm using my power until they leave the place. That's how my lineage's magic work."

Emma grunted, "So, you're telling me that it's up to _them_ to get back here? That's bullshit, they're just children. _We_ need to get them back. We need options."

Jefferson's emotions was getting the best of him, "And what are those options, _your highness_?" he said the last part tauntingly, "Magic may have returned, but as you can see it's unpredictable and chaotic."

"Well why don't you think of a better plan then–"

"I have faith in them. I believe in Henry." Charming cut in. He looked at Snow, and his wife knew what he was talking about.

"So long as we guide them, they'll know what to do." She said, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "He's always believed in us, Emma, now it's our turn to believe."

Of course, if the world was what is used to be, Emma would've screamed murder, but the whole magic thing made everything very complicated. She crossed her arms, "And how do we do that?"

Regina said, "We go to the only person we know who knows more about magic than any of us combined."

* * *

"The ogres have _returned_?" Nicholas spat. He didn't know that; even when back to his older self. Besides, the general, their Mulan, didn't talk about what was life here like back then, so this was all news to him. Granted, he was still a little child when the Ogre Wars happened, but his father was widowed because of the ogres.

"Really?" Aurora asked.

Philip and Mulan nodded.

Henry looked around, "So, isn't it, like, bad that we've got a fire?"

Mulan shook her head, "Ogres rely on their superior hearing. They wouldn't see the fire from afar because of their poor eyesight. Ogres are also wary of the flame; if they sense the fire, they'll avoid it."

Henry looked at the adults, "So, what now?"

Mulan looked at Philip, and he nodded at her, "We go to our home."

* * *

Mulan took the first watch for the night, to give time for Philip and Aurora some privacy on their makeshift tent, besides; she was still suspicious of the children. They wore strange clothing, appeared to know more about the Evil Queen's curse and were somehow keeping information from the adults – well, there was something odd about how they answer Philip and Aurora's questions, like they were keeping a façade. Not just a façade, whenever Mulan stared at their eyes, she saw the lack of innocence in them. These boys have experienced something no child their age should've experienced.

Currently, the older male (she deduced that he was the leader of the trio) was staying near the unconscious girl while the younger boy sat beside them, staring at the crackling flame.

"She's cold." Henry said to no one in particular. He had his palm over her forehead. He then shrugged of his jacket and placed it over her. Nick looked to his side, saw Henry and the girl, then back to the flame.

"Okay. Let me try this…" he raised both of his hands to the fire and concentrated.

The fire, to Mulan's eyes, grew in intensity. The fire got warmer, and for a moment she saw the flame turn a deep shade of blue.

"A _Nanwu_?" she whispered as the surroundings got a little warmer. It's been long since she's met a sorcerer, and most of the magicians she's met before and after the Curse were of the evil type, especially that captive witch in their home camp, and that made her more suspicious of them.

She had been sitting on top of a trunk on a nearby tree, keeping a lookout for anything, while all of this was happening.

"Argh…" the young magician yelped in pain as he collapsed on the ground.

"Nick, don't overdo it." Henry said, rushing to his side.

The younger boy was blowing his smoking hands; odd was that Mulan saw that his skin wasn't burnt. "I'm sorry, Henry. It's difficult trying to do magic without a Pact."

Henry pursed his lips, "We should talk about that," he took a seat beside Hansel, "I don't want you selling your soul again to those Elementals, Nick."

"But…"

"It's just not worth it."

"He's right…" came another voice. "We've got another chance now. No need for a bargain with a Pact, Hansel." Mulan saw that the girl was awake, sitting up.

Henry and Nick came to her side, "How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted," the blonde girl tried to smile, but her face was pale. "But I'll be fine with a little rest."

"I should," Nick took her hands, "give you some of my reserves." The girl was about to protest but she and the younger boy was suddenly glowing. Only for a couple of seconds.

The girl, Mulan saw, wasn't happy about that, but some color returned to her face. "Nick, I would never–"

Nick, who looked more exhausted that before, smiled cheekily, "Well, it's only fair."

"You're incorrigible." The girl smiled at him. She looked at and came in eye contact with Mulan. The older woman saw that unlike the two boys, she still had that glimmer of innocence, but her eyes shone with wisdom. The girl smiled at Mulan, waved her hand and looked at her friends. Henry laughed while Nick managed a weak smile. "Yes, Grace, it's really her."

_Were they talking about _me_? _Mulan thought.

"So that means, we're back? _Here_." The two boys nodded.

A silence followed. But something was off with this silence. The nightly noises have gone quiet, the air was still, and despite the strong fire from below, Mulan was felt an unpleasant chill. She gripped her sword and jumped down from the tree.

The children seemed to have sense the feeling of dread too because suddenly they were all up, their backs were facing each other, on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary.

"Henry, have you gotten rid of the medallion?" The girl asked, looking on one direction.

Mulan's eyes widened. Philip was still holding on it. Quickly but as quietly as possible, she moved to their tent, "Philip."

There was a shuffle, and Philip and Aurora were out of their tent, "What's the matter?"

"The medallion."

Philip was about to ask when an unearthly wail was heard echoing from the forest. Not a second more, Mulan had her sword unsheathed, and so had Philip. Philip brought out a small bearskin pouch, "This medallion?"

Henry saw it, "Quickly, get rid of it."

"How?"

Nick and Paige saw something move from the corner, and they faced it.

"Just throw it."

Nick manipulated the flame from the campfire, making it dance around to make whatever it was hiding in the shadows hesitate.

Philip did as he was told and threw the medallion as far as possible. The wraith emerged from the shadows and all eyes were on it as it hovered towards the direction where the medallion was thrown. The monster picked it up before moving away from the group.

Mulan let out a sigh of relief, her moment of respite was short, however, because a different (but equally spine-chilling) cry was heard from afar.

Philip and Mulan's eyes locked. The wail of the wraith must've attracted _them_. Ogres. Mulan looked at the others before telling everyone, "Run!"


	8. Report 18

.

Report # 18

By: _Henry,_ Grace and **Nick**

**.**

**It's on. Is it on? It is on, right?**

Yes, Hansel it is on. Henry, if I may be so bold, explain to me again why we are doing this?

_I guess since we got back, and since no one is recording our adventures, I figured we should continue what our Belle used to do before we three were sent to this period. For old time's sake. Also, the original storybook helped me immensely back then to break the curse of the town and didn't Belle used to tell us that these things, our reports, might be helpful in the future?_

The three of us? Writing our own storybook?

_Well, since it's us three doing the reports now, I better just use this tape recorder I found in my grandmother's attic. It's more efficient that way._

**I agree. Henry, will you do the honors?**

_Nick tells me that for every action you take, there is an equal and opposite reaction or consequence. And, that inaction also has its _own_ consequences._ _Us three traveling through time have greatly affected the outcome of our supposed future. However, Fate and Destiny are still ruthless despite the second chance they've given us. Grace knows that certain things _**(or Sequential Nexuses, Henry)**_ have to happen first. That some things are predisposed and is supposed to happen no matter how much we try to avoid it._

For example, oh, I've never used a tape recorder before, this is fun!

**Grace…**

Oh, sorry, as I was saying; Fate has already decided that there's someone predisposed to arrive in Fairytale Land, Destiny just didn't specify who it was. If Destiny had set in in the Stone, your mother and grandmother would've still been sent to the other side, not us. Just remember, Fate and Destiny are two different beings. Another scenario of… ahem… **Sequential Nexuses (Grace, it's very easy to say, or you could use the abbreviation, SN)** is how the Queen's mother is bound to–

_Grace!_

Sorry.

_We have to be careful. No one should know about what we're trying to accomplish. It's bad enough that everyone figured out about our current situation_.

About being from the future?

_Well, we should be careful of what we say in our reports._

Well, our reports won't be as useful if we're withholding information.

_But-_

…**I propose we should not think too much of this whole time travelling agenda; our roles according to those who govern us (Fate, Destiny and Time) might be unclear but we should make the best of it. This is our chance to do better; don't you think so, Henry? Grace?**

_Of course._

Yep.

**Do not worry, my friends, I will try to spell this recording, and the upcoming ones, so that no one we don't think highly of could ever hear of this.**


	9. 5

"The fire…!" Nicholas tried to say, but Paige and Henry were already dragging him away from the thundering sounds of the ogres' footsteps. Henry knew it was at least three of them, and either they were really close or they were big and just close.

So the three children tried to run away. Henry was cursing himself for being in his short-legged, easily-exhausted and not-really-athletic body, while his mind knew that he could do more, his body was giving out on him. He tried to push himself and his friends farther but, even Paige and Nick were not doing any better than him… and the three adults noticed this.

Philip, blaming himself for not getting rid of the medallion, looked at Aurora and Mulan. They seemed to have reached a mutual agreement, and the nodded to each other. Mulan and Philip then readied their swords while Aurora ran for the children. The footsteps were getting closer now and Henry knew it was only a matter of time before they…

"_Urgggh!_" They were here. The orges. Three of them, just as Henry suspected. Aurora tried to lead the three children to safety while her two companions tried to meet the enemies head-on. But Nick managed to dodge Aurora and ran to where the two adults. He tried to summon fire again; he raised his arm and a ball of fire emerged from his hand. With a grunt, he threw a well-aimed hit to one of the ogres. Straight in the face. The monstrosity roared in pain and it tried to cover its face with its big hands. Unfortunately, Hansel's moment of triumph was shadowed by the approaching figure of one of the other ogres. This one was brandishing a spiked club, waving it half-hazardly as it toppled some of the surrounding thick trees.

Henry, who was running out of options, looked at Grace. Back then with his mom, Henry wasn't sure if it would work (calling out his Blade from Emma) but it worked nonetheless.

.

This time…

.

_I have to try_, Henry's eyes told Grace.

"Do it…" Grace whispered as Aurora arms were wrapped around them.

Gingerly, Henry grabbed Paige's hand and squeezed it. He was aware that the chances of this plan not working was a lot more than the chances of his mom turning into one of the Blades, but he, no, Grace and Henry were willing to take that risk. For their friend, Nick. It was their **_OATH_** to each other. And he and Grace were **_KEEPER_**s of promises, not breakers.

Sure enough, Grace felt a strong but comforting pull of _magic _from their clasped hands. She closed her eyes, and not a second more, with her eyes still closed, she became aware of the surroundings; everyone's tensed aura, the fast beating of the general and the guy named Philip's heart, and Hansel's really low energy supply.

Aurora was shocked when the two kids in front of her started to glow. "What is happening?" The glow vanished and Henry carried a sword, a thin but elegant, key-shaped sword. It was short, but Aurora felt that it was a reliable weapon.

"Thank you," Henry whispered to the sword as he rushed to where Nicholas was. He can never outmatch the strength of the ogre but he can outsmart it. He tried getting its attention by throwing rocks at it. One hit the monster's head and the ogre turned to Henry's direction. It roared at him before charging to his direction.

Henry rolled away when it tried to use the giant club on him, the earth shaking as in the process. Henry's balance suffered from it, and he fell on the ground. The ogre raised its club and was about to smash Henry when another ball of fire hit the monster in the face. Due to the shock, the monster lost his grip on the club and used its hands to cover his face. That was the opportunity that Henry needed: jumping to his feet, Henry did a downward slash using the odd-looking sword to the monster. The Blade did not seem to have any difficulty slicing through the monster's flesh, but the monster's body was thick, so thick that it looked like Henry was not able to penetrate it. But it did.

Henry expected to see blood pouring out, but surprisingly, it appeared that mud (as in squishy mud, complete with dried leaves and grass) oozed out from the wound.

The monster though seemed capable of being hurt because it screamed in pain. It used one hand to clutch his wound while using the other hand to try and swat Henry away. Henry, despite being athletically-lacking in his 10 year-old body, was able to dodge it safely.

"Its eyes!" he heard from the general, who was occupied with another ogre, the same one whom Nick injured earlier, "go for its eyes."

Henry nodded and jumped and thrusted his sword on the monster's large, single eye.

* * *

Gold had been preparing to leave this cursed town when the door opened. Six adults entered the room. Emma Swan came first, tailed by her parents and Ruby. Jefferson was walking solemn behind them. The biggest surprise of them all was Regina. _Alive_. But he didn't show it in his face, the King and Queen were known for making the impossible possible, after all.

"We need to talk." Emma walked to him, a fiery resolve present in her eyes.

* * *

The battle was difficult and taxing. Surprisingly fast, but very nerve-wracking.

Henry, carrying his sword, walked to Hansel.

"Are you okay?"

Nicholas looked at him, "Sorry about running off like that."

Henry actually smiled, "I would've done the same." Henry's weapon glowed and a second later, Grace was standing beside Henry, holding his hand.

"Now _that_ was fun." Her smiled was crazy, but the two boys laughed. "Yeah, it was."

Their moment of glee was cut short, Phillip cleared his throat to get their attention.

"What just happened? Besides that, why did you rush off like that? That was dangerous, you could have gotten hurt."

Henry looked at the man, "We tried to help."

"But… you're just…"

"Children?" Henry asked, "Yes, we are, but that doesn't mean that we're hopeless. I refuse to accept that kind of thinking." He knit his brows, "Women, children, the elderly are not weak; no one is truly helpless _unless_ they accept that fate."

Henry and Phillip stared at each other silently, a silent battle raging between them.

Mulan sheathed her sword, "I have never seen a weapon like that. And for it to be able to turn the ogres to their original form… unspeakable."

Nicholas walked to the first ogre that they have defeated. Henry had plunged his Blade on the monster's eyes, and compared to the one the general had killed, the monster was just a pile of mud and decaying tree parts. "Interesting, I have read that ogres are creatures molded from the earth turned alive by breathing liquefied negative magic and negative emotions on them." He walked to the corpse of the one Mulan had killed, also by thrusting her sword on the ogre's eyes. This one was all blood and gore, but Hansel was used to blood and gore, well, at least he'd grown numb against the sight of such things.

Grace walked to the pile of mud that was once an ogre, "Either the Blade was special or Henry was special…" she started to go on about porcelain dolls and marionettes, and only Nicholas seemed to understand what she was talking about.

The three adults were enthralled at the sight of the three children. They couldn't believe how well these three kids are able to cope up with the traumas of a skirmish, with ogres no less.

"Are they discussing magical theory?" Aurora was barely able to make sense of what the two kids were talking about, having read books of… fey books, but the boy, who could make fire dance, and the girl, if Aurora's not wrong, were discussing very advance sorcery theory only alchemists and educated wizards and witches are only able to grasp.

Mulan still didn't trust them, but fighting along with them, well the warrior gut in her was telling her that while they may be untrustworthy, they don't mean any harm on the group. "We should head back now, lest we attract more of ogres."

Philip and Aurora nodded.

* * *

"What do you mean you don't know?" Emma was seething, "But you're… you're…"

"Magic is unpredictable here." Mr. Gold was didn't want them to know about Belle yet, especially since Regina was here.

Emma was at a loss of words. This whole crazy magic thing, she hated it. She was angry at it. So angry that she managed to make a nearby light bulb explode.

* * *

Moments after the group of six, composed of three adults and three children, left the area where they fought the three ogres, two figures appeared from the shadows.

"What do you think?" a male asked, taking off the charmed cloak he wore to disguise them from Mulan.

"Me?" A woman of age raised the hood of the charmed cloak covering her face, that female warrior was starting to sense them even with the invisibility cloaks, she'd have to reapply their charms again.

"Well, you're Cora. You know _everything_." The male said sarcastically.

Cora didn't reply on his idle banter for she was thinking. The kid who held the key-shaped weapon, who is he? Well, it's not really the child he was after but it was the weapon that he held earlier; the girl who could turn into the key-shaped blade. She read a great sorcerer's notes before, traded by some useless merchant from Wonderland. The only useful bit of information she was able to translate from the heavily enchanted book was a small paragraph of a weapon that could open doorways.

"Cora? What are we to do now?" Hook was looking at her oddly.

"I believe, the situation would present itself after they arrive in the camp." With a turn, her cloak billowing as she twisted, she only smiled at him, "Let us go."

* * *

A/N: Oathkeeper. Not familiar? Google, my friends.


	10. Report 00

.

Report # 00

By: _Yen Sid_

Thoughts By: **Cora**

**.**

…_t'was something to be feared and marveled at. These things. They are weapons. Weapons able to cut through the thickest of walls and the strongest of magical barriers. But that isn't what makes them so special. These weapons... Forged by the distinct power of individuals. These keys… are able to open doors._

_Truly such a magnificent feat. Why, my pupil Maleficent believes that__-.-.-.-.-.-_

_._

_._

**The pathetic merchant offered the book to me as a way of asking for forgiveness for his crimes.  
****Blasted thing was full of complex privacy enchantments designed so that only the owner of the book was able to read and write in it.**

**Perhaps, if I knew the importance of the book, I would not have had his head cut off.**

**Alas the book was lost after my daughter's curse took effect  
****and whatever information still there is now forever lost.**


	11. 6

Emma stood in front of Mother Superior at the church grounds after being kicked out by a stubborn Gold who refused to even look at them in the eye, much more than listen to what they had to say. It also didn't help the whole situation because of the weird occurrences that happened in the proximity of Emma.

"What's happening?" Not only did she manage to make nearby light bulbs (and three streetlights) explode, her mere presence managed to crack glass windows and raise the alarms of nearby cars.

"Your magic is starting to emerge." The Blue Fairy told her uncertainly. Though, magic of this magnitude, or magic in its basest form, for it to affect the physical world was definitely a mystery. It is possible that the magic here is _that_ complicated here.

"Me? And magic?"

Mother Superior was about to explain when a distraught citizen of the town came to them and talked to Mother Superior. Emma excused herself and made her way inside the church.

She needed a little peace and quiet. Though the stained windows cracked again when she passed by it, and the people hushed and pointed fingers at her when it happened. She just needed to escape.

Nuns were running around, carrying clothes or food or supplies outside. Henry had said that these nuns were all probably fairies once.

.

Henry…

.

She couldn't save him. She failed.

"Miss Swan?"

Emma looked to the side and saw the approaching figure of Ashley Boyd. Or Cinderella. In her hand was the little baby Emma had fought for in Ashley's behalf.

"Emma? Are you alright?" Emma knew that Ashley probably heard about what happened with the wraith, news travels fast here, after all.

"I… I don't know."

Ashley sat beside her, cooing at the baby for a while, before saying, "Well, my husband… I mean Sean's with your parents trying to organize all the chaos." Emma didn't say anything, "I'd usually be with them but everyone there wants me to focus on the baby."

Emma didn't have the strength to look at the child because she'd just miss Henry more.

Ashley sighed, "You know Emma, when I was weak and no one believed in me, you told me to be strong." Ashley nuzzled her nose on her baby's, "I wish I knew what to say but I don't. However, I believe in you… just as you believed in me back then." She started to hum a lullaby before saying, "I know you'll do everything in your power to bring Henry back. Emma, I know you would."

Ashley's monologue was cut short when the Seven Dwarves' voice were heard outside.

* * *

It was already dawn when they arrived in the camp. The night watch spotted them earlier, just when they were about to near the island, and Mulan and Philip had to say some indecipherable code for them to lower their arrows.

"Shapeshifters have tried to trespass before," was what Mulan told Aurora and the children.

Aurora's presence brought glee to the refugee, and a breakfast feast was done to honour her safe return. The kids were introduced and they too got a fill of… chimera meat in the feast.

'Tastes like beef, but rougher,' Grace had told the two boys.

When it was noon, and the feast had died down, Mulan approached the three children. Their leader requested and audience with the three.

"I thought you were the leader?" Henry asked humorously as the three tailed the female warrior, but Mulan didn't find any humour in what he said.

They stopped in front of a tent located at the center of the camp. The tent was significantly larger than any of the surrounding tents, which Nick found weird, but they shushed as a man emerged from the tent.

A tall, dark-skinned and imposing man, he was. He wore distinct armor not unlike the ones Frederick wore from the Before and one glance told them that this man was a knight.

Paige recognized the emblem on the armor. "The Round Table."

Nick and Henry looked at her, "No way." Henry was ecstatic and surprised at seeing a legend among legend, while Nick was wary and confused. Didn't the Knights of that House fall because of one man?

The man smiled that charming smile of his, "Right you are, child. I am Lancelot. But I am a former knight of that esteemed House." He stepped closer to them, "Now, I am a freelancer-turned-leader of this… settlement."

Nick immediately didn't trust this man, for this man was _the man_. He didn't show it though.

Henry shook hands with the man, a thing that made the man's brow rise. Paige chuckled as Henry turned to her questioningly, "we don't shake hands in this realm, Henry."

"Wow! A knight! No wonder the people here are at ease. For a knight to protect them…"

Lancelot merely smiled, "I heard that you are not from this realm, Henry." Upon the children's curious looks, Lancelot smiled, "Philip and Mulan have gladly filled me with the details, you see."

"Yes, sir." Henry spoke for his group, "Our parents must be worried of our absence."

"I do not know how to help you, and for that I apologize, but you are welcome to stay here for the time being. Until you find a way home." Lancelot then turned to Mulan, and the female warrior nodded.

The man then turned and went back inside the tent.

"I wonder what he does inside there…" Nick voiced out.

Mulan didn't tell her anything while Paige and Henry tried to think of an answer to his question.

"Let us be on your way." Mulan told them, "Follow me."

Mulan ushered them to a dome-shaped tent. "You must be tired," Mulan told the three as she entered the tent with them, "this will be your temporary home." Henry looked around, children, similar to their ages, was all round. If he had a guess then this dome is for those orphaned children. Or whose parents were missing after the curse.

The one who managed the place was a gangly teenage boy name Pierre. Mulan talked to him, and Pierre was too happy to give them their own cots.

Once they were settled in, Mulan told them to sleep. It wasn't a request, and the three children had to stifle their laughter as Mulan turned around and went on her way.

"She's always like that. Don't worry." Pierre told the three children. He then raised a brow when the three erupted into fits of laughter.

* * *

Jefferson heard the commotion. According to the Seven Dwarves, there was an invisible barrier surrounding the town, and that if you were to go beyond it, the person in question would become… _ordinary_. Or their cursed version of themselves would not remember who they truly were. That's what happened to Sneezy, and without any fairy dust, the fairies aren't sure if it's permanent.

He didn't know what to do, Grace was in an unknown realm and he was stuck here. Indefinitely stuck here.

_Now's not the time to wallow_. A voice in his head told him. That's right. Gracie remembers now. And she needs him. Her father. No way will they be separated again.

Emma Swan entered the church, followed by her parents.

"We're doing all that we can, Emma."

Emma crossed her hands, "I… I know that… It's just."

David Nolan, or the King, placed a hand over her shoulder. And he saw Emma flinch, just a bit, but enough to make David withdraw his hand. "Why don't you take a rest?"

Snow White nodded, "He's right. You've been through too much already."

Emma shook his head, "How can I rest when Henry's out there?"

Snow White, or Mary Margaret smiled, "I know. But if you're running yourself tired, how could you be of any help?"

Jefferson saw Emma look away from the two. Snow White placed a hand on her shoulder, "Why don't you take a nap? Or a coffee break? And _then_ we think of a plan on bringing them back." Emma, very reluctantly, nodded, "Fine. "

A nap… Jefferson felt like he needed one too, to freshen up his mind. Grudgingly. He stood up and went for the prepared rooms in the church.

* * *

By the time Grace, Henry and Nick woke up, it was already early afternoon.

They regrouped in a secluded area of the camp, away from most of the people.

"Are we really stuck here?" Nick asked Grace.

Grace tilted her head, "I don't think so… I mean, I think I can open a portal out of here but, I don't know how. Papa was still teaching me… before…" Grace didn't finish. Walls had ears of course. "You know what I mean."

Henry was looking at one of the huts. In a particular one, he saw Princess Aurora emerge from it, clutching her hand, as if it was in pain.

The dreams…? From the Before (as he'd like to call it) his dreams was what connected them from the other side. He'd grown accustomed to the dreams with time of course, and he'd built barriers on his mind to protect him from such things…

"My grandmother." Henry told the three, "We could talk to her."

"How?" Grace asked. Nick looked to the direction where Henry was looking at, a distraught Aurora in the arms of Philip. "The dreams…? But Henry…" there are risks involved. He couldn't say it. Grace would grow worried of it if she knew what really went on in that place.

"It's a gamble I'd be willing to take."

Paige tilted her head, curiously.

Nick shook his head, "We're not even sure if she'll show up _there_."

.

"I believe in her."

.

And that was the end of the conversation because Henry saw Mulan and Lancelot coming their way.

* * *

For the time being, the three children agreed to stay in this realm first, with Henry going into _that_ place every night in case her grandmother would show up. There, Henry got reacquainted with Aurora. Of course, at first, she was screaming, but by the third night, they managed to have a decent conversation in that realm.

"If you could control your dreams," Aurora started, warily watching the dancing fires, "why are you still here?"

Henry just shrugged, and was raised a hand to the flame, just enough for him to feel the heat, "I'm waiting for someone." He told her simply. "Besides, you could use a companion here."

In a way, that's how Aurora got closer to the kids, especially since they had answers to her question regarding her dreams. Actually, she's grown particularly fond of Henry. Like a little brother. Though he awfully reminded her of someone; a nice queen from before the curse and not just in terms of personality. He came to possess her fair skin and dark locks that was distinct only to that person.

On their third day, Henry decided that he'd had enough of his un-athletic body. He needed to get back in shape. So he approached the tent of Aurora and Philip, and to Philip's surprise, came to the tent looking for him.

"I need you to train me. With a sword."

"What?!" This kid, while only seeing him fight once (and he was a darned good fighter, was still… a kid.

He'd been vehement about letting him train, but he was persistent. Annoyingly persistent. And by that sunset, Philip grew tired of the boy's incessant begging.

"Fine…" he grabbed a piece of twig, judged it to be sturdy, and handed it to Henry, "If you could hit me, or make me unsheathe my sword, before the sun goes down then I'd consider training you."

That was what Henry wanted to hear.

Swinging the twig a few times, commented, "It needs to be a bit heavier, but I'll try."

Philip looked at the boy, "well?"

Henry held the makeshift sword in his right hand. He bent his legs in an angle, as if a feline ready to strike his prey, and raised the sword at an angle that made a slash easy for him.

_That posture_, Philip thought. It reminded him of someone. One of the only handfuls who could best him in the arts of the sword.

Henry swung his sword diagonally, but it was too sloppy so Philip merely sidestepped it with ease. Henry looked at the twig, "definitely needs to be heavier." He tried again, this time it was a bit faster, but Philip knew it was still sloppy.

They kept this up for a few moments, with Henry getting more and more proficient with the twig. By now, a few people were watching the ongoing exhibition. Mulan was there, smug as ever, and Henry knew she was studying him. Aurora was there too, looking worried for the two of them. "Watch your posture, boy…" even Lancelot was there, observing the fight, and giving out pointers to Henry.

It didn't even register that the sun was setting until it was only a little slit over the horizon.

"You lose, Henry." Philip said, easily sidestepping a move that Henry did.

Henry caught a glimpse of the sun, and knew he had to do better. "Not yet," he crouched on the ground and grabbed another piece of twig. He held the two twigs together on his right hand, looking as if he added a little weight to it, "I only accept defeat when all options are exhausted." He swung his sword again, and Philip had to do a double-take.

Henry steadily kept up his attacks, and Philip noticed that he was learning in an astounding rate.

* * *

"Don't be so worried," Aurora had her full attention on the match when the voice spoke up. She looked to the side and saw Paige standing beside her.

"Philip won't harm Henry, and Henry sure as hell won't harm Philip."

"How can you be so sure?" Even before the curse, the idea of men fighting, it was just too much for her.

"Their eyes…" Grace told her.

"Their eyes….?" Aurora tried to see their eyes.

Could they be…?

She saw it, the mirth in their eyes. The exhilaration in Henry's and the proud look in Philip's.

* * *

_Finally_, Henry told himself. He could feel his joints responding to what his mind was telling him. It was a slow process, but his physical body was adjusting to the strains and stress he was putting on it. He did a twirl with his body, and separated the two twigs, one for each hand. He used his right hand to do a downward slash.

"Too slow," Philip saw it, and he made a grab for it. But there was something, a slight touch over his left thigh. He looked down, and a stick, the one held by the left hand, was ready to stab on his leg. On the last minute, Henry tried to get Philip's attention by doing a sloppy slash downward, while using his left hand to do the actual damage on the enemy.

He learned this from Hook, that when fighting for your life, it pays to be spontaneous and unpredictable. Fredrick coached him in fighting too, but he was more on training the body itself, the gym teacher in him probably, while Hook was more on the actual fighting. With their combined efforts, Henry could safely say he could be an above average fighter.

Henry was smiling, his body aching in pain (from exhaustion and being pushed to the limit) and sweat was all over his body, but he was smiling.

"Well played." Philip smiled at the boy.

"Thanks."

"You had a good teacher," Philip told the boy, who was starting to shake, trying hard to stand up. "I am impressed." Indeed he was, for there were only a handful of people who could outmatch him in swordfights, and an even fewer people who could outsmart him in fighting. If only he knew, two of them were Henry's instructors once.

Thundering cheers were heard all around them, and Henry saw that everyone had seen what he did. And that was the last thing he saw before everything turned dark.

* * *

Elsewhere, Snow had excused herself from everyone. Charming could handle most of the matters there, with Abigail, Jiminy Cricket, Thomas and all of her friends keeping everyone else placated. With the Blue Fairy out of fairy dust, Snow White knew that they needed an alternative source of magic.

She was standing in front of _her _mansion. She knew this was risky, and she knew that she'd have to be alone, because if Charming or anybody else knew of what she intended to do well, the results wouldn't be… good.

Snow knocked on the door and with a solid voice she called out, "Regina?"

No one answered, and for a moment she panicked. "Regina," she called out again, walking to the main hall she walked around the first floor, and found herself in the kitchen. A kitchen bustling in activity, but with a missing Regina.

_Something was brewing here_, Snow thought suspiciously, eyeing a cauldron filled with a boiling purple liquid.

She walked to the counter, and against her better judgment, touched a silver powdery substance. Immediately, she felt lightheaded.

That was then that Regina showed up, carrying a basket of odd objects, and saw Snow touching the silver powder.

"Idiot!" The Evil Queen yelled, and that was the last thing Snow saw before fade out of consciousness.

* * *

There was an intense heat when Henry opened his eyes.

_Great,_ he thought. The only explanation he could think of as to why he was in this… place, is that he had fallen unconscious. Probably due to exhaustion.

No matter, at least it was a small victory. He could get back to training.

Out of the corner of his eyes, to the far corner of the room, Henry saw a figure.

"Aurora?" Henry walked carefully towards the person, careful to not get burned by the fire, "Is that you Aurora?!" He called out louder this time.

The figure seemed to have heard him, and the figure turned around. But the fire was obscuring his line of sight, because it looked like this person…

"Henry?!" a familiar soft voice asked.

He stiffened, he knew that voice.

* * *

A/N: no reports this time.


	12. Report 8

.

Report # 08

By: Belle

Thoughts By: **Nicholas**

**.**

I came upon the term 'Princess of Hearts' once. I read it from one of the ancient books from Rumplestiltskin shop. It said that these people, usually 'princesses' from 'zenith kingdoms', were people whose hearts are devoid of darkness. These people are given the title of nobility because of their purity, often taking the mantle of ruling a realm with grace and just, or being heralded as saints or holy people. It is also possible for these individuals to be male, because the qualifications that would entitle them to be called as such are their extreme selflessness and their heart's strong resilience against the dark.

It is also quite possible for more than one person to be given this title, and there are records (even attested by Rumplestiltskin's journals) to prove of this claim. From my realm, Queen Cinderella, her daughter, Queen Snow, Jefferson's daughter and, according to Rumplestiltskin's journals, me, were all heralded as one. However, the title isn't something one would be with till her grave. For every day is a test on our hearts against darkness, and I probably lost that title from… _hm…_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Anyway, the thing that's of importance here is that, given the tipping of the Balance to favor the Evil, the Centre of Magi would shift to an individual of Good as a failsafe in maintaining Order. Wonderland's Alice of legend was such one being; both being a Princess of Heart and the realm's Centre of Magi.

The thing that baffles me, though, is how the Alice of legend managed to became the Centre of Magi in a realm that's not entirely of her origin. It can be argued that the last attested Centre of Magi, before it ended up as Alice, was either the Red or White Que-_-_-_-_-_-_-

.

.

**I have a theory, that after what happened to Henry's mother, the person who took up the mantle of becoming the Centre of Magi is one of my friends. Henry's a good candidate, but so is Grace.**

**I worry for their safety because of-_-_-_-_-_-_-**


	13. 7

Nicholas and Paige trailed behind Philip as he carried Henry's unconscious form over his shoulder.

Aurora started to fret over him, but Nicholas and Paige kept her placated, "he just lost consciousness, probably from exhaustion," they said.

"A little nap would do him good." Hansel told her as Philip laid Henry into a cot.

* * *

"Henry?"

Henry thanks out the Fates for letting him see his grandmother again. "Mary Margaret!" he ran to her, careful of the fires around them, and hugged her grandmother.

"What are…"

Henry didn't let her finish, "Let's skip that part, Mary Margaret. We both know that we don't know if how long we'd be here."

Mary Margaret nodded, trusting his judgment (while wondering how mature Henry seemed all of a sudden).

"To start, Nicholas and Paige are with me. Tell Ava and Jefferson that, and can you please ask Jefferson if it is possible for him to teach Paige? Paige thinks her powers have awakened."

"You seem to have the situation in control." Mary Margaret told him jokingly.

Henry shrugged, "We had three days to think of a plan."

"Three days? But Henry, you were only gone for a few hours when you fell down the portal…"

"Maybe because of the realm we were in," Henry suggested. "We're in your home realm. And there are quite a few survivors there."

This revelation was making Snow's head hurt as she tried to process every piece of bomb Henry threw at her.

Henry's eyes suddenly turned inquisitive. He planned to sell the idea that they got reacquainted with Regina's mother, "Oh, and Mary Margaret."

"Yes, Henry?"

"Who's Cora?" Henry saw her grandmother stiffen, "There's a regal-looking old lady in the camp that keeps asking about my step-mom."

Snow White's eyes widened, "Henry…" but she suddenly floated in the air and vanished out of thin air. The last thing she saw was Henry looking at her with something she couldn't quite decipher. But she heard him alright, "I'll be waiting for you here tonight, Mary Margaret."

* * *

Her eyes opened, and she was greeted by the smiling, teary face of Charming.

Before anything else happened, Snow blurted out, "I know where Henry is."

* * *

Henry fluttered his eyes open. To his side, Grace and Hansel were busy talking to themselves. He suppressed a groan as he tried to sit up.

"How are you feeling?" he felt Paige's lithe hands on his shoulder.

"Better…" he told her sitting upright. He looked at them, "I saw my grandmother _there_…"

Hansel sat on the foot of his cot, "And?"

"I asked about my stepmom's mother." He couldn't outright say their names yet because he was being cautious. "We need to proceed with the original plan."

"That reminds me," Nicholas raised his arms and concentrated. Henry felt a wave of magic, a soft pulse really.

"There," Nicholas spoke proudly a second later, "We can talk privately now."

"Are you sure?" Henry asked, Cora was powerful, even before being turned into one, so a little privacy charm might not be so helpful.

"No, but we can draw her closer now." And Henry understood; Hansel's novice spell would undoubtedly get the attention of season magicians. "But on to more pressing matters, Paige and I found one bit of information that's both alarming and useful."

Henry looked at them, urging them to continue.

"Cora is in the camp."

* * *

Jefferson was drinking tea inside his mansion when one of the Queen's dwarves was sent to fetch him. The scowling man didn't really knock on his front door; kicking it open and walking to his kitchen.

"The Good Queen wants to see you."

Jefferson placed his teacup down and sighed, "Why?"

Grumpy shrugged, "I don't know. But she told me to relay a message to you in case you'd be doubtful."

The Mad Hatter looked at him, "Well?"

"The Good Queen says that your daughter thinks that she's awakened her abilities."

* * *

"Are you sure this is not some random dream?" Snow White was back in the Church, standing in front of an assortment of individuals, Charming standing right beside her.

The Blue Fairy and the Dark One was standing side-by-side, a miracle in itself; two opposing sides of the magical spectrum in the same room. But times of today were rough, especially with the news the seven dwarves have told everyone about leaving the town. The Evil Queen was standing awkwardly not far from the group. Emma was sitting in a seat very close to the door. Ava and her father stuck out the most from the group, looking warily at everyone.

The other people usually inside, like Cinderella and her husband, took care of everyone outside, letting Snow White keep the church to herself for the time being.

The Dark One then told everyone about the side effect of having been awakened from a strong sleeping curse, the Blue Fairy verifying his explanation when a lot of the people there didn't believe her.

The doors of the church opened, and Jefferson came inside the room, looking seriously at Snow White.

"I'm glad you can make it."

Jefferson replied with a curt nod. Snow the proceeded to explain how she saw Henry in the dream world.

"…basically, if it is possible, I want you to teach me how to do your realm jumping so that I can teach Henry, so he can teach her. Is that not possible?"

Jefferson looked at her, and sighed sadly. "I can't risk that to my daughter."

Snow looked at him to elaborate, "Temporal magic is a very precise branch of magic. It takes months, even years to fully master the ability. It won't be a safe ride for them if the one teaching them doesn't know what they're talking about to the minute details. I'm sorry, but my daughter is too precious and I can't risk her safety like that."

Emma, while still hating Jefferson nodded. She understood his position; the safety of the children came first, after all. "So that leaves us with… no other option?"

"No…" Charming looked at them, he then looked at the Blue Fairy, "Is it possible for us to use the Magical Wardrobe again?"

* * *

"That's… surprising." Henry looked at the two.

Paige shrugged, "But she's a prisoner here. A _prisoner_."

"…which is weird, because you know her, right?" Hansel told Henry. What he meant was, Cora was cunning, manipulative and ruthless, and chaining someone like Cora, and for Cora to _be_ chained was unfathomable. There's something fishy about, that's what.

The entrance of the tent opened, and Philip came inside, signaling the end of the three children's conversation.

Unknown to them, a cloaked figure was standing quietly close by. The cloak he wore not only made him invisible, it was charmed so that the privacy charm the young boy cast was nulled. Cora knew something was off with the children, so she ordered him to tail the three, especially the girl who could turn into a key. Having heard their vague conversation, Hook knew he should be going back to relay what he had heard to Cora, but something within him wanted remain close to the children. Knowing full well of the consequences of disobeying Cora, Hook stayed behind and watched the children some more.


End file.
